McLaughlin, Newgarden “Would Love” Rolex 24 Run With Porsche

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden said they “would love” the opportunity to be part of Porsche Penske Motorsport’s lineup in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, should they get the call up from Roger Penske and Porsche.

The Team Penske NTT IndyCar Series stars are among the five drivers sharing the pair of factory Porsche 963s in this weekend’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway, ahead of possible rides for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.

Penske Racing President Jonathan Diuguid revealed to Sportscar365 that both drivers are on the radar, especially if the team opts for four-driver lineups.

Friday’s opening test session marked both drivers’ first time back in the Porsche since February’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Sebring International Raceway, which marked McLaughlin’s first laps in the LMDh car altogether.

“It was cool,” the Kiwi told Sportscar365. “We had a good sample and see what it was capable of.

“It’s just got a bit more power than the LMP2, the way you drive it, it’s kind of similar in some ways.

“In general I feel a lot better and nice to go into a car that you’ve been in before. The experience of just knowing the car and knowing the track and stuff is a good thing.

“I’m having a blast. I got out and had a big smile on my face.

“It’s cool to be passing cars instead of looking behind.”

McLaughlin, who has three previous starts in the Rolex 24, two in LMP2 machinery as well as this year’s outing in the Trackhouse by TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, indicated that a decision has not yet been made on whether he’ll get a chance to make his GTP race debut in January.

“It’s really up to them,” he said. “The best thing here is that I have these opportunities like this. I’ve done the Corvette stuff in Suzuka and I’ll drive anything.

“It’s really up to ‘The Captain’ and Porsche.

“When he says, ‘We need you for the test to fill in and do a couple of things,’ it’s nice to help them with that and that’s the beauty of Team Penske, just having your fingers in a lot of pies.

“Ultimately one day, for sure, I’d love to run outright and would love to have a crack at it. At the the same time when the opportunity comes at the right time, I’ll take it.”

Newgarden, who was part of Porsche Penske’s Rolex 24-winning lineup in 2024, as a four-driver team, said he’d jump at the opportunity again.

“It would be fun,” he said. “I loved being here, I’ve done it twice now and would love to do more.

“It’s just a great warmup to the year. It’s a good race to set yourself up for hopefully a great season and I always enjoy the atmosphere to be back at the track.

“I would love to be here.”

The two-time IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner admitted that his position within the team, even in testing this weekend, is to support the team’s full-time drivers.

“When you’re in a group like this, you’re going to have your ‘A’ guys, especially for us, I think what I experienced the last time I was here, was that it’s not my job to be the ‘A’ driver and I knew that coming in,” said Newgarden.

“I was like, ‘This is this guy’s full-time program and we need to make sure we get them rested and really through the next stage.’

“You need to know your role in some respects when you’re here too. That can be fun too, to have a different dynamic and a different request that’s nice to mix it up.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John